The Clouds Before the Storm
by Rosebud5
Summary: You brought her to me, Eponine. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be on my own." ... "You was never on your own. You had me." ... "Yes, I had my friends. But not love." ... "You don't know what it's like to be on your own. Little you know. Little you see."


Hey everyone! Soo I'm aware I haven't updated or posted anything new in a very long time...AP Euro and rehearsals have kept me very, very busy!! But at last, Spring Break is near and I'll be posting quite a lot! So here's a new fic for you all...I just love _Les Miserables _and my absolute fave character is Eponine. I truly hope to play her someday--honestly one of my favorite roles ever. So I decided to write this fic. I hope to have many more Eponine fics in the future, but hey, this is a start. I'm portraying her as she is in the musical, not the novel. However, I love 'Ponine in any version!! :)

Well all I can say now is please, please review!! Constructive criticism is welcomed!! Thank you!!

~Rosebud5

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**The Clouds Before the Storm**

Eponine shivered as yet another cold wind cut through her thin top and skirt. She looked up at the sky, which had turned a foreboding gray. Rain was on the way. Oh, she didn't mind the rain. It was beautiful to her. However, it was the soaking cold she hated. She had no real shelter. No real place to be safe. Except the one place she was going.

The ABC Cafe loomed ahead. Eponine smiled and adjusted her hat atop her head. Oh, if only she could make herself look attractive for him...Look like that cursed Cosette...Be beautiful for just a moment...But she still put on her most flirtatious smile and walked into the cafe.

Marius sat at a table alone in the far end of the cafe, looking into his mug, off in another world. Eponine felt her heart pound harder in her chest. She never got used to seeing him. Each time was like the magic of the first. Tossing her brown hair over her shoulder, Eponine sauntered over to the table and stood behind Marius.

"So where's your student friends?" she said smilingly.

Marius turned around with a start. His eyes met Eponine's, and she felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle. "Oh, hey, 'Ponine," he smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"What? Can't I be in here, though I ain't a student?" she beamed, sitting in the chair opposite him. She reached across the table and grabbed one of his books, leafing through it. "I can read, you know. I could have been a student, too."

Marius simply smiled, taking a sip of his coffee. "And a good one at that," he said softly.

A blush rose in Eponine's cheeks, but she ducked her head in a hopeless attempt to hide it. "You know how to make me smile, Monsieur," she tried to use her most flirtatious voice, hoping he would catch on.

But when he spoke, her heart fell. "Oh, Eponine, I keep thinking about dear Cosette," he mumbled. "She can't seem to leave my mind."

"She's just a bourgeois who has her eyes on you," Eponine mumbled, tossing the book back to Marius. She crossed her arms and leaned back further in the chair. "Trust me. I know. There's lots of things I know."

"'Ponine, you brought her to me," Marius smiled, leaning foward and taking her hands in his across the table. Eponine gasped, the feeling of his hands in hers filling her entire body. But he was only touching a friend. He didn't know how the feeling of his hands in hers sent her spinning. "How can I ever thank you, Eponine? If I wasn't for you, I would still be on my own."

"You was never on your own," Eponine grumbled. "You had me."

"Yes, I had my friends," Marius nodded. "But not love."

"You don't know what it's like to be on your own, Monsieur," the girl sighed. "Little you know, Marius. Little you see."

"What are you talking about, 'Ponine?" Marius frowned, cocking his head to the side.

"Oh, forget it, Monsieur," Eponine sighed, taking her hands out of his. Oh, how her hands still tingled with the memory of his.

Suddenly, lightning lit up the sky outside the cafe, followed by a slight drizzle of rain. Eponine smiled, pointing to the window. "Beautiful, ain't it, Marius?"

"Not so lovely as my dear Cosette," he whispered, not even looking at the rain. "Oh, 'Ponine, how I want to see her again."

"Marius, you have a revolution to think about. Forget Cosette," Eponine muttered, shivering as she suddenly got very cold. When Marius made no response, she sighed, attempting to change the subject yet again. "But Marius, don't you love the rain?"

"I suppose," he shrugged. "Though it's rather gloomy, if you ask me."

"No, it ain't, Monsieur. If I was to die, I'd want to die in the rain," _With you_, she added, but only in her mind.

"**I **shall die if I don't see Cosette again," Marius sighed, twirling his now empty cup around on the table. "I love her more than anyone in this world."

That was too much for Eponine. He'd only known Cosette for a very short time, and already she was his soul mate. Eponine got to her feet, heading to the door. "I have to go, Marius. I'll be seeing you later."

"'Ponine, don't go out there in the rain," Marius stopped her, grabbing her arm. "You'll catch your death."

"No, Monsieur. I don't mind the rain," she pulled away from him, opening the door. "It will make the flowers grow."

The End

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Well?? I'm not quite sure how that turned out...My first Les Mis fic...With many more to come I'm sure!! Please, please _**REVIEW**_!!! Constructive Critisim is welcomed, but please be gentle. :)

~Rosebud5


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